Fallball 2011: St. John's Red Storm Check-In

For much of last season, St. John’s coach Jason Miller was being constantly reminded of how bright the future looked for his program. Miller brought in a couple of promising recruiting classes, and the Red Storm battled some of the top teams in the nation down to the wire with a team dominant with freshmen and sophomores.

Don’t get Miller wrong: he is very encouraged by the young players, but he said his team didn’t get it done at 4-10, failing to close out fourth-quarter leads against No. 2 Notre Dame and Villanova and suffering close losses to Stony Brook, Hofstra and Yale. Turn around half of those setbacks and the Red Storm could have become a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament.

“The key for us was not letting all the talk about how promising the future was become an excuse for us,’’ Miller said. “We have not done that. We continue to work hard and want to be better than 4-10.’’

A new season is always an opportunity to wipe away the past, but Miller wants his young team to remember blowing the leads against the Irish and Wildcats and the 20 goals that Syracuse put up in the season finale.

“I want those to hurt,’’ Miller admits. “I want it to be fuel for our guys.

“We walked off the field and everybody was saying, ‘You’re so close, you’re so young. The future is going to be so bright.’ I said, ‘Don’t go for it. We had every opportunity to win those games and we didn’t do it. That’s what I want our guys to focus on. Just being a year older doesn’t mean we’re going to be any better. If we continue to work hard, then being a year older will make us better.’’

The Red Storm returns their entire attack unit and added two promising freshmen to that mix as well. The addition of 13 freshmen and two transfers has bolstered the lineup, and Miller believes goalie Jeff Lowman is one of the better netminders in the Big East.

“We are hell-bent to make the Big East Tournament this year, and that’s tough sledding for anybody in this conference, not necessarily just us,’’ Miller said. “We feel we have the pieces in place to do it.’’

FALL FOCUS

The Red Storm had to mix in 15 new players, and Miller was encouraged by what he saw.

“We just wanted to see in the big picture a lot of different things,’’ Miller said, “what we have to work with and how we have to put all the right pieces in the right places. That’s kind of a moving target.’’

Miller believes that picture has become clearer on the offensive end, but he’s still feeling a little apprehensive about the defensive side, not seeing enough players step up and secure starting nods prior to the start of preseason camp.

“Defensively we still have a lot of work to do,’’ Miller said.

One major hurdle has been injuries that sidelined at least 13 players.

“In that case, it’s been down with so many guys hurt,’’ Miller said, “but there will be an upside to it. A lot of guys are getting quality minutes, so there will be a silver lining in it.’’

TOP DOGS

Defensive midfielder Matt Hurst sets the tone for the Red Storm with his intensity. “He’s our best lead-by-example guy,’’ Miller said. Long stick middie Dylan Ayers is another high-tempo player who feeds the team with his energy. Terrence Leach broke his foot in last year’s scrimmage with UMass, and Miller believes he can finally live up to the promise of becoming a first-line midfielder. Harry Kutner (4 goals last season), arguably one of the best players on the team, has been moved from attack to midfield, creating a ripple effect in the competition.

Ryan Fitzgerald (8G, 9A) and Keith Switzer (11) ran first-line midfield last season and Alex Lagodich played good minutes.

In goal, Miller believes this is the opportunity for Jeff Lowman (8.36 GAA, .552) to shine.

FRESH FACES

The two most-promising recruits are attackmen Joey Leonard and Stefan Diachenko. “They’re definitely going to get a fair shake,’’ Miller said.

Leonard hails from nearby Hicksville, and was a member of the U.S. U-19 Team. A right-hander, Leonard has an outstanding shot with range and very good timing. The Canadian Diachenko, also a right-hander, has tremendous hands and is an excellent finisher. The one problem Miller is having is developing the proper sets for Diachenko, who is an excellent catch-and-shoot guy but may not be a great motion player yet.

Miller’s job becomes more complicated because he’s trying to find a way to get Leonard and Diachenko into a lineup that already has its entire attack returning. “That’s a good problem,’’ Miller concedes.

Two more promising newcomers are goalie Ryan Quinn and Blair Bonner.

“Ryan has been better than we thought he would be,’’ Miller said. “We liked him in the recruiting process, and he has gotten better and better over the course of three weeks. Blair is very athletic. He just has to adjust to the college game a little bit, and when he does he’s going to be really good.’’

KEY BATTLES

If the attack lineup is a good problem for Miller, the battle for two defensive openings is a bad one. Six players are battling for the starting jobs on defense and no three have firmly established themselves during fall camp. “It’s one of those things where it looks different to me day to day,’’ Miller said.

“We’re at the point where I think all six can do things real well,’’ Miller continued, “but none of them really stepped up to prove they are the complete package yet.’’

Sophomore James Lang returns after missing all of last season because of a knee injury. Junior Colin Canty has been the fourth guy for two years and looking to move up. Sophomore Andrew Viscusi shifted from midfield to close defense in the latter half of last season. Transfers Harry Freid (Michigan) and Zach Fox (Wagner) are in the mix, as is freshman Mark Difrangia.

Is it OK that the jobs remain open for now? “The time frame is better in the fall,’’ Miller said. “When we come back in the spring time, it’s two weeks of practice and then we scrimmage. I was hoping to have a clear idea at the end of fall practice of who those guys might be. It doesn’t put me into panic mode if I don’t know who they are, but I was hoping that at the end of five or six weeks we would know.’’

FALL TRADITIONS

In 2010 the Red Storm decided to give the Tunnel to Towers Run a try, and they got hooked. The charity event is named after New York firefighter Stephen Siller, who ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, in full fireman’s gear, in order to reach the World Trade Center, where he lost his life on September 11, 2001.

“It’s a tremendous experience, a very New York-thing,’’ Miller said. “We did it as a community service thing a year ago, but we came out of it realizing our guys got so much out of it.’’

Miller said people don’t realize how hot it can get inside the tunnel, especially with 25,000 people running, and gives him a deeper appreciation for what Siller did on that ill-fated day.

“When you run out of the tunnel on the Manhattan side and you look at the Freedom Tower and all the firemen lined up with the portraits of the guys who lost their lives on 9-11, it’s an awesome feeling,’’ Miller said.

Following the run, the team and their parents got together for a brunch in uptown Manhattan.

“It’s probably the best team thing that we do off the lacrosse field,’’ Miller said.

On the Big Stage

You can catch the Red Storm in the Konica Minolta Big City Classic at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J on April 1, 2012. St. John's will be taking on Notre Dame. Last year in the event, the Red Storm downed Rutgers, 9-8. More information is available on the Inside Lacrosse event here.